ABSTRACT
David Hume and Adam Smith were influenced by the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), which shaped their ideas about the partiality of sympathy. For Hume, jealousy is the basis of the balance of power and the principal cause of war. In trade, jealousy is a source of economic prosperity. Natural sympathy was partial, and so it could not encompass the obedience to the general rule of justice.
Like Hume, Smith admitted the partiality of natural morality, such as sympathy. He tried to show that natural morality could lead to justice. Smith thought of this partiality of sympathy as fit for morality and justice on an individual and partial basis. However, people who do not know each other cannot feel sympathy for each other. This lack of sympathy could lead to war.
